The Review

All posts, comments andstatements made on IR are those of the authors only. Any disputes must be addressed to the writers, who are solely responsible for their posts, comments and statements. We reserve the right to deny or remove comments. Content may not be used without permission of the author.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

What is wrong with kids these days? The ungrateful little punks should be ashamed of themselves. No, I'm not talking about the little wannabe thugs who wear their pants below their butts or the wannabe starlets/streetwalkers who wear... well, usually not enough. I am not referring to those who talk back to their parents or do not behave in class.

The brats I'm talking about are much worse! These are the selfish little trolls who don't know their purpose. Take my kids, for example. I have seven and only the oldest has a job, and it is part time! I'm not sure who is to blame for this outrage. Someone should be ashamed, however. At the very least, my thirteen and 11 year old children should be pulling their weight.

Over the last few weeks, liberals across the egalitarian spectrum have been going crazier than Cardinals fan trapped in Wrigleyville over the possible cuts to the Federal budget. They have cried about all of the jobs that will be lost because of the debt ceiling deal, how we are driving seniors over the cliff, we'll make them eat dog food, and more people will be listening to Lady Gaga. OK, I made that last one up but it sounds like a plausible end of the world scenario.

Facts are a hard thing when it comes to liberals. If only we had a lesson from history about how a similar country faces rising debt, high unemployment and a lagging economy. If only we could look to such a country and figure out what they did as an example. Where, oh where could we do that? Maybe Canada.

U.S. Rep. Timothy V. Johnson issued the following statement after voting in opposition to the debt reduction plan put forward by House Speaker John Boehner on Friday.

Rep. Johnson Statement on Boehner Plan

“I have the greatest respect for Speaker Boehner. I believe he was the only person in leadership to act in good faith in these negotiations. I supported his Cut, Cap and Balance proposal a week ago and sincerely believed that was a way forward.

“This latest proposal, however, is a shadow of that effort. It promises cuts in the years ahead but as any of us who have any experience in the process knows, there are no guarantees that those cuts will actually occur.

"I didn't change, the bill changed," Hultgren told me outside the House chamber after Boehner squeezed out his face-saving rollcall. To win votes, including Hultgren's, Boehner added language to start the process of sending a balanced budget amendment to the states for ratification.

According to official letters obtained by The Daily Caller, the gay conservative group GOProud and the ultraconservative John Birch Society won’t be co-sponsoring the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2012....

The Kane County Chroniclewrites this morning that State Senator Chris Lauzen (R-Aurora) hinted to supporters in an email that he's considering another bid for Congress - and this time he may be challenging a fellow Republican incumbent in the newly-drawn 13th CD - U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert. Lauzen told supporters via email that he will make his plans for the future known at his upcoming annual Porky Pig picnic.

Governor Pat Quinn has vetoed a bill that would have allowed Illinois employees and retirees to keep their current health care coverage for another two years. State Rep. Jason Barickman says the veto wasn’t a surprise, but he says it’s still disappointing.

“He (Quinn) certainly signaled his opposition early,” he said. “Our hope was that with the large show of support in favor of this bill by upstate and downstate lawmakers … he wouldn’t veto this.”

Illinois is currently under a 90-day contract extension with current health insurance provider Health Alliance. After September, the state will go with Blue Cross Blue Shield as its sole health insurance partner. Critics say the Blue Cross Blue Shield doesn’t cover doctors and programs across the entire state.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Statement from Congressman Robert Dold (R-10) on the Budget Control Act of 2011

Congressman Dold issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the Budget Control Act of 2011:

“Today I voted in support of the Budget Control Act of 2011. I believe that we need to raise the debt ceiling and I also believe we must get serious about balancing the budget, cutting spending and paying down our skyrocketing debt. We need a bold, bipartisan plan to move forward. As a small business owner I know that uncertainty hinders job creation. We must do all that we can to put our nation on a fiscally sustainable path to give to job creators and entrepreneurs all across the country confidence to grow their businesses, invest and create jobs.”

Washington, D.C. – Today Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11), issued the following statement upon House passage of the Budget Control Act:

“Over the course of seven months, House Republicans have changed the conversation in Washington from where to spend to where to cut and how much. Today, many of my colleagues and I in the House voted to reverse the failed trajectory.

“House Republicans recognize that we must pay back the bills that have been racked up by prior Congresses. We must get ourselves on a fiscal trajectory because our spending is out of control. We have the same tax rates, the same two wars, the same prescription drug benefit in 2007, and the same tax loopholes, but the deficit then was $161 billion. This year it's $1.5 trillion.

“The House Republicans’ Budget Control Act upholds the promises made – it cuts more spending than the increase in the debt limit and it does not raise any taxes. This plan cuts and caps spending by $917 billion over 10 years and would prevent a national default which threatens our economic growth as well as the national security of our country.

Washington, DC – Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the Budget Control Act of 2011:

“Today, the House passed another proposal that offers bipartisan agreed upon solutions to ensure our country meets its financial obligations as well as continues to reduce spending for this year and over the next decade. For years the government has not been accountable for the chronic overspending that has taken place. The Budget Control Act is a common-sense and responsible step toward the accountability that has been lacking in Washington.

ST. LOUIS - Former U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave says the life issue got her into politics. "I knew if that candidate was prolife, it spoke volumes about the candidate."

I was told "Just don't talk about the abortion issue," by leadership in the state house when first elected. "But it was the prolifers that put me here!"

She started the U.S. House prolife women's caucus and is now leading Susan B. Anthony List, a prolife national organization. "We're all about electing prolife women," Musgrave said. "It was Obamacare that gave us the issue to fight paying for abortions."

Fox News commentator Deneen Borelli is at Smart Girl Politics Summit ... here she is on with Sean Hannity. She has a book coming out in 2012 titled, "Blacklash: How the Left is driving Americans to the Government Plantation."

ST LOUIS - After a conversation with radio talk show host Glenn Beck last summer, FreedomWorks took the challenge to develop a Facebook-like system to connect conservatives within states, regions and beyond. The end result was FreedomConnector. Check it out - not a social media network, but a political activism network.

FreedomWorks is focused on connecting conservative activists with the purpose of retaining the conservative U.S. House majority and winning a majority in the U.S. Senate in 2012. Focused, focused, focused on winning elections. FreedomWorks is focused on defeating Missouri's Democrat U.S. Senator Clair McCaskill next year.

"And we're asked all the time, but we do not take money from the Koch Brothers," the FreedomWorks Kristina Ribaldi rep quipped. "Our board is made of businessmen who want to see American turn around."

Ribaldi and FreedomWorks social media diva Tabitha Hale (Twitter alias "@pinkelephant") are promoting the new network at Smart Girl Politics Summit in St. Louis this weekend.

LIVE BLOGGING - At Smart Girl Politics Summit in St. Louis, and Lt Governor Rebecca Kleefisch says "Illinois, we're coming your way..." then "Can't be too hard on Illinois after what the Green Bay Packers did to their Bears!"

Gov Quinn has raised taxes 67 % while Governor Walker has balanced the budget without a raise in income taxes, and has frozen Wisconsin's property taxes for the next two years. Wisconsin's budget closes next year with a $300,000 surplus - to government, that means $54 for every man, woman and child in Wisconsin. That means small business owners will have incentive to hire more new employees. We need more taxpayers, not more taxes. We need more responsibility and not more entitlements.

As you know if you read my column yesterday, like my fellow “sellout” Col. Alan West, I continue to support House Speaker John Boehner’s bill to raise the debt ceiling. I acknowledge that reasonable minds can differ on this issue. Witness Rush Limbaugh and Thomas Sowell, both great conservative thinkers on opposite sides.

I think most of you know that I have been on the same page with my Tea Party friends for some time. I spoken at their events. I have supported their insistence on a return to fiscal sanity and an end to throwing our hard-earned tax money down various government ratholes. What I don’t support is handing a victory to Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and assisting in the re-election of the worst president of the modern era, a narcissistic Marxist determined to “remake” our country into something the Founders wouldn’t recognize.

One out of two U.S. likely voters thinks Barack Obama is doing a lousy job. Just who is that other person that thinks he's doing just fine?

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 36% of Likely U.S. Voters give the president good or excellent marks when it comes to the economy. But 50% say the president is doing a poor job, up seven points from 43% two weeks ago. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

This ties the highest negative finding of Obama's presidency, last measured in October 2010. Positive ratings for the president in the economic area have remained in the 30s for the past several months.

The Political Class, however, thinks the president is doing just fine, with 60% who rate his economic performance as good or excellent.Sixty percent (60%) of Mainstream voters, by contrast, rate Obama's handling of the economy as poor.

ST LOUIS - Right from the heart of St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs territory this weekend, Illinois Review will be reporting from St. Louis' Crowne Plaza Hotel and you can watch it HERE starting at 1 PM CST. Today's lineup will include the conservative movement heroine Phyllis Schlafly, among several others.

We'll bring you news from behind the scenes and under the Gateway Arch ... But more importantly, should we wear Cardinal red or Cubs blue this weekend??

Cook County GOP Chairman Lee Roupas sent the following to his email list Thursday night:

Dear Township & Ward Committeemen and Republican Friends,

For nearly four years I have had the great honor and privilege of serving as your Cook County Republican Party Chairman. Recently, I accepteda position as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Illinois. As a result, I am announcing my resignation as Chairman effective September 7, 2011.

Another fake data scandal could be brewing among the high priests of man-made global warming cult members. For years they tried to scare all the nation's school children into thinking all those cute polar bears would die out thanks to melting ice flows. Then Canadian researchers last year said whoops, the census of polar bears was going up and not down. No we might find out why the counts were off to start with. Click here to read a story about fake data again.

ST. LOUIS - Illinois Review will be reporting Friday and Saturday from the third annual Smart Girl Politics' Summit in steamy and tropical St. Louis. Conservative women will hear from electeds, wannabes and conservative activist leaders, and will conduct the first conservative women's presidential straw poll.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Over the last week or two, tensions have been running high for good reason. There is a lot riding on the outcome of the debt ceiling vote. As Conservatives, we've been waiting for this moment for most of the year. Considering that we control one of the three voting blocks (House, Senate, White House) we normally don't have any full control over legislation. However, the debt ceiling gives us a rare opportunity to make the other two voting blocks at least play in our court. We may or may not win the game, but at least we are invited to play this time.

As many have noted, John Boehner’s deal to raise the debt ceiling is not perfect. There aren’t enough spending cuts in the here and now, and I don’t think any of us is fooled by yet another pass-the-buck commission, promising us yet again that this time, we will face the hideous reality of decades of profligate spending. Still, I support it, and I encourage you to do the same for the following reasons:

When all of this started, I don’t think that most of us believed that the Republicans would stand firm on “no new taxes.” We expected the typical linguini-spined caving and cowering in the face of the anticipated (and probably inevitable) Lame Stream Media disinformation and distortion campaign. Miracle of miracles: they didn’t!

It is not lost on me that a court case filed almost 8 months ago regarding a marriage that ended more than 8 years ago would be brought up today. We are 72 hours away from one of the biggest decisions our country has to make about its financial future. I understand why this is a story and why the media has to ask me about it. I understood as a candidate, and I understand as a sitting member of Congress that the scrutiny of my personal life will be intense. This is a tough business. It’s also not lost on me that not everyone agrees with me politically, I am the tip of the spear in this current debate, and I will be attacked.

Let me say this. I love all the members of my family past and present. I’ve always given everything I have to meet my financial obligations to my children and I will fight until my last breath against anyone who says otherwise. My children are truly the treasure of my life, which is why I’ve been trying to resolve this issue since January in a court of law, rather than drag my children into it. That is the appropriate venue and I will not discuss this private family issue in public.

You may have read the title of this article and thought, "Ghostie is going to do another snarky article". Well, not this time. I actually meant what I said. Many on "our" side have blamed President Obama for the size of the Federal Debt. Indeed, he deserves a large part of the blame. I think I've chronicled that more often than Joan Rivers has had her face lifted.

Tonight I watched James "Snakehead" Carville on CNN. He went on and on about how everything was George Bush's fault. Well, he's absolutely wrong that it was all Bush's fault. However, that doesn't mean that Bush doesn't deserve some of the fault, and we need to admit that.

CHICAGO - The Committee for a Fair and Balanced Map joined Illinois' Republican congressional delegation (sans U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson) in objecting in federal court to House Speaker Mike Madigan's redistricting map, designed, they say, to regain lost Democratic U.S. House seats. Besides claims the the state's Hispanic population is purposely diluted in the way the districts are currently drawn, the website "MyVoteShouldCount" explains

The suit further describes the Democrats' map as a "partisan gerrymander designed to ensure a Democratic supermajority" and one that disrespects the will of Illinois voters by attempting to nullify the results of last November's election. Specifically, their map draws five incumbent Republican congressional representatives out of their own districts, in many cases denying their constituents decades of service, historical knowledge and increased seniority in the U.S. House.

The Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida), has chosen to go over the top in hysterical language to scare the public. The leader of the party that controls both the White House and the Senate fantasizes that the Republican majority in the House must have tanks hidden in the streets of Washington, DC ready to surround the Capitol. She is accusing the GOP of using "the tactics of a dictatorship." because they will not roll over for President Obama without a fight to hold down ruinous over spending. Such childish ranting proves that she is unfit to have a leadership role in any thoughtful policy debate.

"In less than a year, Congressman Walsh has distinguished himself as a pro-growth leader," said Club for Growth President Chris Chocola. "We have no doubt that Congressman Walsh will continue to be a fighter for free markets and economic growth in Congress."

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

"Where were you people when Reagan/Bush was raising the debt limit?" The preceding is not necessarily a direct quote, but more like an amalgam (as taught by a young Gil in the movie "Parenthood") of statements made by liberal drones who take umbrage with principled resistance to raising the limit. I don't know if past actions, whether they be transgressions or not, are supposed to automatically justify all future similar actions. I also don't know if people who make such statements exited their mother's wombs and immediately began paying attention to politics and the actions of politicians. At the tender age of three, many of these enlightened drones must have been demanding that mommy and daddy call or write their elected officials and give them a piece of his or her young mind.

Some of us are slow developers... late bloomers, if you will. "Where was I when Reagan was raising the debt limit?" Well, unlike most people my age, I did not pay much attention to such things as I aged from ten to eighteen years (Reagan's inauguration to Bush 41's). Perhaps if I had paid attention to the affairs of the my state and the nation, I too would have grown up smart enough to see the value of increasing the debt limit as a way to deal with over-spending.

Republican Tazewell County Board memberJohn Ackermanis very pleased with State Treasurer Dan Rutherford's follow through on what Ackerman refers to in his newsletter as "Conservative Values:"

State Treasurer Dan Rutherford was in Central Illinois a few weeks ago. I attended his stops in Washington and East Peoria and was proud of his commitment to showcase his Conservative Values now that he has been elected to a Statewide Office. While in office for just a short while, Dan has reviewed his new offices and has made the following reductions:

A) As promised during his campaign, he closed six satellite offices.B) After reviewing the Vehicle Usage, cut the amount of Vehicles assigned to his office by 50%.C) Reduced the number of Mobile Phone users by 72%D) Decreased the number of phone lines in the Chicago Office by 18%

WASHINGTON - Manteno, Illinois is the hometown of Tom Cruise - well, at least Congress' Tom Cruise. Or so says "The Hill" in describing the 11th CD's 33 year old U.S. Rep. Adam "Top Gun" Kinzinger as #5 on their list of DC's 50 Most Beautiful People for 2011.

Americans have faced and overcome many big challenges in the past greater than the challenges we face today. After the presidential election of November 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a personal handwritten letter to the GOP nominee he had defeated, Wendell Willkie of Indiana. Mr. Willkie was going to England on a personal fact-finding trip and he personally delivered FDR's letter of encouragement to Prime Minister Winston Churchill whose country was then facing Nazi Germany mostly alone before America's entry into the war at the end of 1941.

Why, you ask, are you calling this the best debt ceiling plan? Simple - it's mine. I'm getting tired of all the plans. Boehner has a plan, Reid has a plan, the Gangrene of Six has a plan, Obama has a ......ha ha - got ya there, didn't I?

So, who would I trust more than anyone on the planet to come up with a great plan? Did you have to ask? My plan will balance the budget in five years and will result in hundreds of billions in cuts almost immediately. Click below the fold for the details.

In an effort to support troops overseas, Chicago's SouthTown 912 Project gathered over $10,000 in donated items and this past Sunday, packed boxes to send to over 200 soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.

But that's only the start, the group reports. They plan to continue collecting items through September 11, when they, together with Chicago Tea Patriots, plan to host a parade in Chicago's southside Canaryville neighborhood. The groups received national attention in The Blaze this week and drew coverage from the local ABC Chicago News and Southtown Star.

The group will continue to gather sunscreen, lip balm, facial cleansing bars, moisturizer, body lotion, hard candy, magazines, beef jerky, CDs, DVDs, sun burn lotion and various other non perishable items to send out in a second shipment after September 11.

After the rally – in which Gutierrez had called on President Barack Obama to stop deporting immigrants such as students who would qualify for the DREAM Act – Gutierrez and a handful of immigration activists set up a banner in front of the White House gates that read '1 million deportations under Obama' and sat down in front of the fence.

Gutierrez and several others refused to leave when ordered by police.

Tuesday, President Obama addressed the National Council of La Raza annual convention in DC:

Below is the Stamford Advocate's photo caption of a meeting between Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, House Speaker Mike Madigan and a few others, including Governor Quinn -- but perhaps you have a better suggestion for AP photographer M. Spencer Green's grab?

"Shh...don't tell anyone, but we're not really going to default..." is what the Obama Administration's been telling banker officials, Fox News Business reports this afternoon. That's why Wall Street isn't showing too much concern about the debt ceiling stalemate in DC.

While Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was on Sunday talk shows scaring seniors dependent on Social Security and getting active military personnel on edge, wondering if their August checks will be delayed, White House personnel's been whispering to bankers not to panic.

Within weeks after Congressman Anthony Weiner's resignation during an online sex scandal, a second Democrat is leaving. U.S. Rep. David Wu, congressman for Oregon's 1st CD, says he's resigning after an 18 year girl complained that he made unwanted sexual advances towards her. Earlier this year, several Wu staffers resigned after they received this photo from their boss:

One page states: "Without Your Regional Superintendent...Who will provide wise counsel to parents who elect to home school their children?"

Seriously? In February, Regional Offices of Education lobbyist Mike McCreery testified homeschoolers should be separated out from their other private school partners and annually register with the public school system. After all, that could be a "revenue raiser", despite the complete lack of usefulness regarding education quality. Our own Fran Eaton hit the nail on the head in comments on the Illinois Homeschool PAC's FaceBook page: "It's hilarious they would put on a website the very reasons why Governor Quinn's cuts are justified, and not see it for themselves."

As the day debt ceiling of reckoning fast approaches, dueling proposals are flurrying around Washington fast and furious. The latest two are from House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

Americans, and global financial markets, are watching Washington nervously for a real plan—one that will put the nation squarely on a path to solving our twin crises of spending and debt. Without strong structural changes in spending, our debt will balloon out of control.

At stake are two issues. The short-term is obvious – will there be an increase in the debt limit before August 3rd? Despite the President and his team practically begging Wall Street to collapse, the markets and the rating agencies believe that there will be an increase and the federal government can safely avoid the chaos of prioritizing its bills in order to service the debt. Though they warn of the consequences if this doesn’t happen, Standard & Poor’s, has stated that

President Obama has repeatedly called for "a balanced approach" and "shared sacrifice" and of course more "revenue" aka taxes to reduce the debt. But more than two million civilian government employees are never asked to sacrifice one dime of their salaries, perks, health plans, or pensions to help reduce the debt. Obama has not suggested any repeal, freeze, or reduction in any spending program passed by the Democratic majorities in Congress from the time he was sworn in on Jan. 20, 2009 to the time the new GOP majority elected the Speaker of the House on Jan. 6, 2011.

Illinois Review's great contributor, the Ghost of John Brown , did some important digging for us to counter some of the "junk" we get in the form of press releases from green groups desperate to prove their importance and their need for our tax dollars.